I’ve spent my morning thus far in the leisurely pursuit of reading nine year-old blog posts from a knitter who makes motherbears—comfort bears for children in Africa affected by HIV. Purling Antonia is the name of her blog. She started it planning to make 100 bears. I’m pretty sure she’s made 500, but I could be wrong about that.
 
Anyway, she makes it seem wonderful and magical and meditative. And makes me want to finish up Rhonda Bear and move on to my next bear.

Luz has just left for yoga, where, I told them “Get Hot! Get Sweaty! Make Boys Cry!” and then I imagined them having a tshirt that said that, and wearing it to yoga and the boys nearby reading it. Of course, that would push them to try harder, which would make them cry harder.

Nopalito got me up last night and then when he was outside, went tearing across the yard, chasing and barking and barking and barking! Of course I had neglected to put on slippers, and so there I was, walking barefoot across our treacherous back yard, in my just-pedicured soft-soled little feet! Curses! Since then my toes have been hurting on my left foot, which I injured recently. I can’t remember now if I fell on it, or it was just that I smacked it into the cast-iron table leg, full force.
After the initial injury, I was worried I might have a fracture, but there was no swelling or discoloration, so I decided not.

Today I am wishing for comfrey to rub over it, to promote healing.

The lady who gave me a pedicure wanted to buy Rhonda Bear off of me.

Hey, you know what’s funny? I always get really impatient with beginning knitters/crocheters, who want their first project to be runway-ready. And I always think, the folks in beginning art classes don’t expect their work that day to hang in museums. (Although we kind of do!) Hang on Mom’s fridge, and hang in our study, or the the friend to whom it had special significance, sure!
But that’s part of what I struggled with Rhonda Bear. and that’s what me and the OCD were working against: she’s a bear to learn on.

Give me a kiss to build a dream on,
and my imagination will thrive upon that kiss.
Sweetheart, I ask no more than this:
a kiss to build a dream on.

She, the blog author, Gisela (not Antonia!) posted this memory from 1956 that I want to figure out how to incorporate into my lotería assignment.

[The art teacher] walked into our classroom once a week and told a story. When he was finished he asked us to draw a big rectangle on paper and divide it into four parts.
“Draw the four scenes you like most in the story.”

I think the answer is that instead of drawing from whatever, they have to draw from one of the texts or stories from the class, and do a 2x2 loteria tabla.

The students resist any kind of structure, but I think structure is very good for them. It makes you make choices. It makes you commit to those choices. so instead of doing a half-ass job on nine different images, you have to do a great job on four.

Like they might do La Llorona, Huitzitzílin, Cleofilas, and the river.

Or Malinche, Guadalupe, La Chalupa, and La Sirena.

Yeah, I could really see this working!

Alright: Luz has been gone for more than half an hour and I am in exactly the same position I was when they left. But I have written over six hundred words more and that is a very good thing.

I need to move my writerly brain if I don’t want it to atrophy. and that means that it will get sore—like my left wrist from crocheting amigurumi style, or my left foot from walking barefoot across the backyard in the dark in the middle of the night to retrieve a barking chihuahua—and maybe disturb my sleep, or at least restructure my dream. And those are all very good things as well!

Okay, some fine-tuning to take care of the cat ears on my bear…

Honestly, I think I decreased too much for the neck or should've increased more for the head.

I was in a rush to finish (thus the cat ears) because I was knitting in public, and that makes you want to have a finished project to show.

Coming back, I followed delight's bear ear tutorial -- very helpful. I went back this morning and tried to follow it, adapting to crochet.

definite improvement.

I picked out my finishing seam--I remembered I'd had to join more yarn just a row or so before the end, so I knew I could unravel a little without disturbing the facial embroidery. I unraveled to there,
--I added a photo here because with her head open and all the curlies coming out, I was reminded of those ads for Sea Monkey's in the back of the comic books!--

I added a row or two, with some extra increases at front and back of head, at sides, and above eyebrows--I really should have started with a bigger head!

quick scarf before DH gets home from yoga--have to hurry so that I won't be sitting in the exact same spot in the exact same position as when they left two hours ago!--TA DA!

Rhonda the Acrobat bear

Named after Rhonda Daufman (sp?) in the Theater Department at Eastern New Mexico University in 1985. She sewed her own hot-pink unitard. And dated Palestinian guys to make her parents insane.
(pasted in the notes from ravelry, because I don’t want any of my words to go to waste, i.e. not be counted. Like when you’re not wearing your pedometer, so your steps don’t count.

I didn’t wash my face yet and it’s breaking out so I’d better go rectify that, then head out to the pet store to get dog food etc, and stop by La Farine for a hot cross bun for Beverley.

(I was eying them yesterday at Feel Good Bakery at Alameda, but worried that they wouldn’t be fresh enough for today)

Luz does not want a hot cross bun.

one a penny, two a penny, hot crossed buns.
if you have no daughters, give them to your sons
one a penny, two a penny, hot crossed buns.